Last year, Dorna Sports, S.L., the commercial entity that holds the rights to conduct all MotoGP Championships and all forms of supersport and superbike racing held around the world, announced that it would be conducting races that will consist of electrically powered Energica Ego superbikes running the circuits.

In a launch event held yesterday at Officine Farneto in Rome, Dorna announced more details about the electric racing with showcasing of the race-spec Energica EgoGP along with naming the series the “FIM Enel MotoE World Cup” from its inception in 2019.

Enel is an Italian multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas. In partnership with Dorna, Enel became the title sponsorer of the new electric racing series and also became the Sustainable Power Partner of MotoGP that will make the MotoGP motorcycle paddocks more energy efficient.

This high-octane yet zero-emission motorsport MotoE will benefit directly from the MotoGP’s state-of-the-art TV production and strong communication platform. The MotoE will be held in tandem with the European rounds for the MotoGP Championship allowing the electric racing gain traction with the racing fans and public alike.

The calendar for the MotoE World Cup has yet to be confirmed, but the first official test for riders and teams is scheduled to take place at the Circuito de Jerez in February 2019.

They will also follow similar racing patterns with practice sessions taking place on Friday, qualifying on Saturday and races on Sunday. In total, the 2019 season will have five races, with each race consisting of 10 laps around the European circuits. Dorna and Enel aim to improve the outright performance of the bike concerning battery capacity and range before they plan ahead with increasing the race distance beyond its 2019 start date.

There will be a total of 11 teams running the preliminary MotoE, with seven of them being private MotoGP teams (Tech 3, LCR, Marc VDS, Pramac, Avintia, Angel Nieto (formerly Aspar) and Gresini) and the remaining four teams will be drawn from Moto2 and Moto3 classes who chose to enter anytime soon. Each of the MotoGP teams will receive two bikes while the other four teams will have access to race one bike each.

Having MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 teams participating on the electric circuit is a masterstroke move to create more hype amongst public consciousness about the future of racing and motorcycles in general. This is an efficient way to leverage the fame of the MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 Championships to launch the new series.

Michelin will be the sole tire supplier for the MotoE championships just like their GP stint. All tires will be kitted onto Energica’s EgoGP motorcycles that will be race tuned to run at around 155 mph. The bikes will have a 110kW battery-motor pack that will propel these bikes from 0-60 mph in under three seconds.

The Energica EgoGP will run on batteries charged with "clean energy"; energy that will be generated using multiple resources other than just grid electricity. Reports suggest they also want to set up units that feed on photovoltaic energy and solar farms.

Enel, through its advanced energy services division Enel X, will be delivering fast charging capability (full charge in 30 minutes) to the teams via the smart e-mobility platform and will equip paddocks in all the five circuits with their fast-charging stations. They will also provide advanced energy services, green energy supply as well as storage, with dedicated on-site personnel and facilities.

“The new MotoE™ World Cup will be a leap into the future through the competition of the world’s first Fast Charge electric motorcycles manufactured by Italian company Energica, bringing together performance and zero emissions.”